Disintegrator crushing member and support therefor



March 31, 1970 A. Q. JOHNSON DISINTEGRATOR CRUSHING MEMBER AND SUPPORT THEREFOR Filed March 25, 1968 INVENTOR AL 554 7 0. JOHNSON WW AT'I ORNEY United States Patent M US. Cl. 241-188 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to improved cushion members and a construction for supporting these members of the type used in a multi-cage disintegrator. The disclosure provides pins made up of high strength steel bolts that extend between the cage and ring of the disintegrator. The bolts are designed to absorb all of the forces that normally work against the pins in the disintegrating operation, such as, the centrifugal force, bending moments, and torque. Around each bolt there is provided a steel tube which extends between the cage and ring and forms a separator for these two elements. The tube is so mounted as to float with respect to the bolt. Enclosing the tube is an outer sleeve made up preferably of a tungsten carbide material designed particularly to combat the wear by the material to be crushed, but in a manner to be free from the bending and torque forces involved in the operation. This is accomplished in the disclosure by providing between the tube and the outer sleeve a cushion in the form of rubber vulcanized to the outside diameter of the tube.

HISTORY AND OBJECTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION It is a well-known fact that many of the parts of a disintegrator employed to pulverize material are subject to continuous wear and, hence, to failure and high maintenance cost. The most expendable elements are the crushing members or pins used in the disintegrator, say for example, the type illustrated in US. Patent No. 3,028,105 which issued to P. M. Perrine on Aug. 3, 1962. Not only has there been considerable difficulty in obtaining an acceptable life for the pins, but because of the nature of the operation considerable difficulty has been experienced in providing an adequate mounting for the pins. As shown in the aforesaid patent, it was customary in the prior art to mount the pins with which the abrasive material was brought into contact during the reduction operation direct- 1y to the cage and ring elements of the disintegrator. This meant that the pins had to be constructed to resist the bending and torque forces involved in the operation of the disintegrator. At the same time, the pins had to be designed to give maximum resistance against abrasive wear.

Consequently, prior pins could not be constructed to completely satisfy either of the requisites and, as a result, pin failure was a source of continuous difiiculty'in the normal operation of the disintegrator. This problem was aggravated by the fact that in normal construction, the pins, as noted above, were connected at one end to the cage and at the other end to the ring elements of the disintegrator. In this construction, because of the inherent nature of the cage, it was relatively free from expansion at the peripheral surface where the pins were mounted, whereas in the case of the ring, for the same reason, it experienced substantial expansion at the outer periphery. Hence, attempts to construct crushing pins out of a highly abrasive material such as tungsten carbide met with failure because of the fact that such material, being very brittle 3,503,561 Patented Mar. 31, 1970 and relatively non-elastic, was subject to breakage partly because of the difference in expansion between the cage and the ring.

It is one of the important objects of the invention to provide a support structure for the novel pins of the present invention which will assure that their full wearresistant characteristic can be realized. The present invention also provides for a pin construction for use in a disintegrator or like device wherein the central portion consists of a high strength shaft, such as a steel bolt, which is connected between the cage and ring of the disintegrator. The shaft is designed to take all of the forces imposed upon the pin during the normal operation of the disintegrator, such as the centrifugal forces, bending moments, and torques.

Concentric with the shaft but arranged in a floating relation ship, there is provided a steel tube that extends between the cage and the ring and acts as a separator between these two members. On the outside of the tube there is mounted a resilient material, such as rubber or a synthetic material, on which is then mounted the outer sleeve made up of a wear resistant material, such as tungsten carbide. The tungsten carbide sleeve, being backed by the resilient material and free from the cage and ring, is not therefore subject to any bending or torque forces so that the full advantage of its superior wear resistant qualities can be realized.

These features along with others will be better appreciated when the following description is read along with the accompanying drawings, of which FIGURE 1 is a partial sectional view of a disintegrator employing the improved crushing pins of the present invention along with illustrating the novel mounting means for the pins, and

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view of one of the pins illustrated in FIGURE 1.

With reference first to FIGURE 1, it will be appreciated that since the present invention is addressed primarily to the construction of the pins and their mounting means, there is no necessity to describe the entire disintegrator, which is fully discussed in the aforesaid US. Patent No. 3,028,105. Hence, FIGURE 1 is designed to show the general relationship of the inside of a disintegrator in which there is provided the outer frame 10 made up of a number of structural members 11 and 12 which form an enclosure for material fed to the disintegrator through the hopper 13 which is shown to be an integral part of the frame 10. The disintegrator may consist of a single row of pins or as many as eight separate rows of pins which, as noted in the aforesaid patent, are designed to rotate in opposite directions with respect to the next adjacent row.

In the aforesaid patent, as in FIGURE 1, four rows of pins are illustrated making up a four-row disintegrator.

Considering the inner or first row, it forms a part of a set with the third row as does the outer row with the second row. The fourth and second rows are connected to a common cage 15 to which the pins 16 are secured and extend to the opposite side of the disintegrator where they are connected to separate rings 18 and 19 making up a unitary assembly. The first and third rows have a somewhat different construction in which their one ends are secured to a first part of a cage 21 and the opposite ends, in the case of the third row, to a ring 22 and, in the case of the first row, to a second part of the cage 21, which part is identified as 21a. The cages 15 and 21a of the separate sets are mounted on separate driven shafts 24 and 25 respectively and, as indicated by the arrow with respect to each of these shafts, are driven in opposite directions.

Coming now, more particularly, to the features of the present invention and addressing attention now to FIG- 3 URB 2 in addition to FIGURE 1, there is illustrated both the improved construction of the pins 16 and the improved manner in which they are connected to the cages and rings. As illustrated, the cages and rings are provided with recesses 26 and 27 for receiving the head and nut of a high strength steel bolt 28 which rigidly connect the cage and ring together. These bolts, as will be noted more fully hereinafter, are designed to take directly substantially all of the forces to which the pins are subjected. Around each bolt and between the inside faces of the cage and ring, there is provided a steel tube 29. The tube is designed so as not to be physically connected to the bolt and allowed to float relative thereto. These tubes, which are always under compression, serve as separators between the cages and rings and resist any tendency of these members to move toward each other under the high speed operation to which they are normally subject.

Outward of each steel tube 29 is arranged the outer sleeve 31 made up of a high wear resistant material, such as tungsten carbide or some equivalent. As noted, the outer sleeve 31 is provided with a resilient backing 32, which is arranged between the tube 29 and the inside wall of the sleeve 31. This backing 32 is made up of a resilient material, such as rubber or a suitable substitute, and provides a cushion for the sleeve 31. 'It is important to note that in the construction and mounting of the crushing pins the sleeves 31 are not connected to the cages or rings and thereby are not subject to the bending moment or torque of the bolts 28 nor of the differential expansion of the cages and rings. This construction, therefore, not only permits the maximum use and life of the outer sleeves but allows for substantial economy since only a relatively thin sleeve needs to be provided.

While in a given case the various dimensions and types of material employed for the pins 16 may vary as the requirements of the machine vary, an example of one pin construction is as follows. The sleeves 31 were made up of a tungsten carbide grade of C-80 having a thickness of /s-inch. The diameter of the bolts 29 were 1 /2- inch, and the steel tubes 24 had a wall thickness of /2- inch. The rubber vulcanized to the tubes was made to be A -inch thick having a durometer of about 60.

While the present invention has been described with reference to a multi-cage disintegrator, it will be appreciated by those in the art that the novel construction of the crushing members and their novel mounting means can be used separately or together in many other machines.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

extending between and connecting together said cage and said ring; a tube for each shaft enclosing the shaft extending between and serving as a separator for said cage and ring;

a sleeve for each tube made up of abrasive resistant material enclosing the tube and extending between said cage and ring, and

a resilient cushion arranged between each sleeve and tube.

2. In combination with a disintegrator according to claim 1 wherein said shafts comprise bolts forcibly securing said cage and ring togetherat spaced points around their outer peripheries.

3. In combination with a disintegrator according to claim 1 wherein said resilient cushions comprise rubber sleeves vulcanized to the outside of said tubes.

4. In combination with a disintegrator according to claim 1 wherein said tubes are made of steel and are constructed and arranged to be separated from said shafts.

5. In combination with a disintegrator according to claim 1 where clearances are provided between the outer diameters of said shafts and the inside diameters of said tubes to free the tubes from the forces imposed during operation on the shafts, and in which the sleeves with respect to the ring and cage are constructed and arranged to avoid being subjected to differential expansion of said ring and cage.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,873,920 2/1959 Holm 241188 X 3,057,564 10/1962 Bridgewater 24l188 X FOREIGN PATENTS 192,779 12/ 1907 Germany.

LESTER M. SWINGLE, Primary Examiner M. G. RASKIN, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

